This beautifully illuminated copy of Kitāb–i nasāyiḥ or Pandnāmah
(“Book of Exhortations”) by ʿAbd Allāh Haravī (d.1088) was calligraphed in shikastah nastaʿlīq script in 1278/1861-2. Shikastah nastaʿlīq, i.e. “broken” nastaʿlīq, originated in Iran in the 17th century as a result of writing nastaʿlīq rapidly. One of its characteristics is the final form of the letter nūn executed in
reverse.